HANGZHOU, July 25 (Xinhua) -- 16-year-old Chinese shooting prospect Du Yuchen clinched her first ever international title by winning the women's 10m air rifle event at the 2026 ISSF World Cup on Saturday.
Aged just 15, Du paired with teammate Liu Bochen to take the 10m air rifle mixed team gold at last year's National Games. In June this year, she bagged both the women's 10m air rifle individual title and the mixed team crown with partner Ma Sihan at the 2026 National Shooting Championships.
The young talent also collected two bronze medals at the 2025 Asian Championships, and competed in three World Cup stages in 2025 with the best finish of fourth place.
In Saturday's qualification round, Du delivered a solid performance to advance to the final alongside compatriot Han Jiayu.
The teenage shooter got off to a slow start in the eight-woman final, opening with a 9.9-point shot and sitting in seventh place after the first five-shot series. She quickly regained her composure, however, reeling off a string of high scores to surge up the leaderboard, moving into second spot after the second five-shot series.
During the elimination phase, Du maintained her consistent form, overhauling long-time front-runner Nobata Misaki of Japan and holding her advantage all the way to the final shot. She finished with a total score of 254.6 points to claim gold.
Nobata settled for silver with 253.3 points, while Han took the bronze.
"I feel very relaxed to compete at home," said Du, who was making her first World Cup appearance on home soil. "The venue has great facilities and a nice environment, and the spectators create an amazing atmosphere, so I've received a lot of encouragement."
Du will next partner with Zhang Changhong in the 10m air rifle mixed team event.
"These young shooters are definitely very skilled, and I think their drive to improve is something I can't match right now, but training and learning together with them also motivates me to progress," Han said about the emergence of young athletes in women's air rifle events.
Looking ahead to the upcoming 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Han said she hopes to deliver her training level in competition and make targeted improvements in the final sprint of preparation.
"I need to keep strengthening my single-shot ability and maintain a more stable mindset," she said.
Two gold medals will be decided on Sunday, in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions and men's 10m air pistol events. Enditem
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